Today I shall speak to you about the priceless gift of God. I believe we are all aware that a gift is something that cannot be earned. A gift is normally given to out at the giver’s discretion. A gift is never an obligation, neither is it given to satisfy a demand. To understand more about the priceless gift of God we shall take a closer look at the Motive for the gift , the gift itself and the recipient .

THE MOTIVE

a. “ For God so loved ”

Here we are told the motive for which God gave his priceless gift. It is simply put as “ God so loved. ”

i. Unconditional love

It was His unconditional love that caused the creator of the heavens and the earth to gift the most precious gift to the world. His love does not rest in words or emotion, it has action. It was through his love that he had created the heavens and earth. It was due to his love that created human beings in His image. His love was also seen when He provided food and a pleasant environment for humans being and all the other living thin gs which God had made . God ’ s love is not due to our actions. We are love by God unconditionally.

ii. Infinite love

God’s love is infinite. This means it has no end. The spring of God’s love never runs dry. Its doors are never closed. The love of God is open ed all times, for everyone to experience. The Psalmist says, “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. ” ( Psalm 136:1 ) In Jeremiah 31:3, God said, “ … I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. ” There is no end of God ’ s love. Paul wrote, “ For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ” (Rom 8:38- 39)

b. “ the world ”

The Greek word is “ κόσμος ” or “ cosmos ” We now learn of the subject of God ’ s love and that is the world. There are two meanings attached to the Greek word for “ the world. ”

i. The Planet Earth

It implies that God loved the whole of planet earth. He loved all the mountains, the rivers, the seas and the whole of nature.

ii. The Inhabitants of the Planet Earth

It also implies God loved all the inhabitants of planet earth, particularly human beings. The human beings, the land animals, sea creature and the birds of the air are part of the world.

God’s motive for giving His priceless gift was His love for the world. We move on to look at the gift itself .

THE GIFT

“ he gave his only begotten Son ”

The magnitude or the extent of God’s love for the world is perfectly express in the quality and value of the gift that He gave to the world .

a. His Son God gave His Son.

He gave His only begotten Son. I doubt that there could be a sane person among us who will be bold enough to give up his son, even if he were one of many children, to be killed in order to make peace with his enemies. We would protect our children and even give our lives for them if it were possible. That is how much we value them. The Son of God, Jesus Christ is more valuable than our children.

i. He is before all things (Col 1:15 – 17)

Everything that was made was made through the Son of God, not only that but also , everything was made for Him . Jesus Christ is the firstborn of all creation. Without Him nothing ever came to existence.

ii. He is the express image of the God (Heb 1:3)

Jesus is the brightness of God’s glory and He is the express image of his person. To say that He is the express image of God means that Jesus Christ is exactly like the Father. As the Father is eternal so is the Son. Jesus said, “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;” (John 5:26)

iii. He is the beloved Son of God (Mat 3:17, 17:5, Mar 1:11, Luke 9:35)

God testified about Jesus, saying “This is my beloved Son.” Jesus also affirmed that He was loved by the Father. In John 15:9, Jesus says, “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you … ”

iv. His Only Begotten Son (Psalm 2:7)

Jesus was the only begotten Son of God. This means there was no other Son of God like Him. All the other sons of God (Gen 6 and Job 1:6) were created but He was the only begotten Son of God. God gave up not only His Son, but His only begotten Son.

b. Eternal Life

God did not only give us His Son but He also gave us eternal life. John say s in his letter, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ” (1 John 5:1 1) . John says that God Himself is testifying that He has given us eternal life and that life can only be found in Jesus Christ. Paul says to the Roman Church, “ … the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. ” (Roman 6:23)

Jesus Christ was and is very valuable to His Father but He did not withhold him. Instead He gave Him up to the world.

THE RECIPIENT

“That whosoever believeth in him”

a. Whosoever (Anyone)

Jesus Christ who is the gift of God to the world is given so that anyone may benefit through Him. There is no nation, no language, no family or any individual, that is excluded. All are counted, into this awesome grace of God. The Jews and the Gentiles from every part of the world are all welcome.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews says , “…we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Heb 10:10). Jesus Christ was given once to the world, and He was given for all.

b. Believes on Him

The benefits of God’s Gift are limited to anyone who believes in Jesus Christ. A person may be religious and they may pray every day BUT if they don’t believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God they do not have eternal life. Though the Gift of God is given for all, it can only do well to those who believe in Jesus Christ.